A 27-year-old man was stabbed to death yesterday in a gleaming 3-year-old Chinatown high-rise residential building, police said.
Boston police would not reveal the victim's identity or details of the investigation, but they arrested Anthony Chambers, 51, of Boston and charged him in the death.
Officer James Kenneally, a department spokesman, said Chambers was arrested soon after the killing in the vicinity of the crime scene, but he would not elaborate. Investigators believe Chambers and the victim knew each other, said a person familiar with the investigation.
A 911 call came in at about 1:40 p.m. The victim was dead when police arrived at The Metropolitan at 1 Nassau St., said Kenneally.
The building's main entrance, located just a few steps from the New England Medical Center, was cordoned off yesterday afternoon with yellow tape. Residents said this was the first time the Metropolitan had become the scene of a homicide investigation.
"I'm shocked - such a pleasant neighborhood," said Carla Davis, an information specialist with Brigham and Women's Hospital who lives in the building.
Three residents who said the stabbing occurred on the second floor did not know the man who lived there.
"All I heard was, like, yelling next door," said Barbara Aquilino, 56, a registered nurse.
Another neighbor, retiree Robert Pritchett, said he heard two loud noises in a row, like the sound of furniture being moved, at about the time of the stabbing, just before 2 p.m.
Condominium owners who live in the 23d-floor penthouses have good views of the Boston skyline. Market-rate rentals on the middle floors draw medical and dental students from the hospital, which is affiliated with Tufts University. The bottom floors are subsidized.
The building has two entrances - one for renters and another for owners - and separate elevators. Davis, who lives in a lower-floor apartment, said there is frequent turnover among renters. "It's like a tale of two cities," she said.
The building is staffed 24 hours a day by a concierge and has a night security guard and restricted access for guests, said Jeremy Liu, executive director of the Asian Community Development Corp. He said some in the neighborhood greeted the development with apprehension, mostly because of its high density, but it has not had a crime problem in the past.
Globe correspondent Caitlin Castello contributed to this report.
